HYDERABAD: In a badminton-crazy country like Indonesia, everyone remembers the heroics of Saina Nehwal not Sachin Tendulkar. And many are already curious about the two-time Indonesian Open Super Series champion’s chances in Olympics. But if everything goes as planned, cricket could soon catch up in the South-East Asian nation.Former cricketers SL Venkatapathy Raju and Noel David toured the country recently to promote cricket. The inevitable questions that popped up during their friendly talks with locals pertained to Saina and her preparations for the London Olympics. “Saina is very popular in Indonesia. Many people asked us about her Olympic chances,’’ said David. The two Hyderabad cricketers were on a two-day visit last week, arranged by Cricglobal Consultants. They gave coaching to orphaned kids in Jakarta and participated in a training session with the Indonesian national team. Yes, they have a national cricket team. Among the other former cricketers, who participated in the programme, were Greame Hick, Gladstone Small, both from England, and Mark Greatbatch (New Zealand).According to 42-year-old Raju, who played in 28 Test matches and 53 one-day internationals, cricket is becoming popular in Indonesia. “There are 14 teams in the local league conducted in Jakarta. And the Gandhi Memorial School, where there are a lot of Indians and New Zealanders, emerged as local champions,’’ he said. Raju said cricket had already made a mark in China. “This is the third year in a row that such a training session was held. In the first year, the Australian great Glenn McGrath interacted with the trainees. They are keen learners,’’ he added. The cricketers also collected funds for the benefit of the orphaned children. “The boys and girls in this orphan institute play cricket,’’ Raju said. Indonesians, according to David, are like live wires on the field. May be, some of them will play in IPL soon!
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